Dave Bautista Says ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Isn’t the Same Without James Gunn

The entire cast of Guardians of the Galaxy wrote a letter of support for James Gunn, who Disney fired after old offensive and insensitive tweets were brought back to light. As of right now, it hasn’t changed anything. Gunn, who turned an essentially unknown comic book into one of Marvel and Disney’s biggest franchises, has not been rehired, and the last word we got was that it was “unlikely” he was getting a second chance. He’s just gone.

There’s not much more that can be done at this point. (Fans tried a petition, which drew hundreds of thousands of signatures, and garnered zero response from Disney.) The cast is largely tied to their contracts. They could conceivably threaten not to make Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3without Gunn, but then they’d be in breach of those contracts. They pretty much have to work with whoever Marvel puts in charge of the film.

But Dave Bautista, who has been one of the most vocal Guardians about this whole situation, says he not happy about the situation. Guardians Vol. 3 without James Gunn is “not what [he] signed up for” Bautista tweeted, noting that it’s simply not a Guardians movie without Gunn. “It’s also pretty nauseating to work for someone who’d empower a smear campaign by fascists #cybernazis,” he added. (The old tweets from Gunn, a vocal critic of President Trump, were rediscovered by conservative pundit Mike Cernovich, who also pushed the Pizzagate conspiracy theory.)

Politics aside, Bautista is very protective of Gunn because he largely owes his Hollywood career to him. When Gunn hired him to play Drax, Bautista was best known as a pro wrestler for the WWE. Guardians was his big break, and roles in other major productions followed. Without Gunn, Bautista might have wound up back in wrestling by now. His loyalty is understandable and admirable.

It still does not seem like it’s going to do a lick of good. Unless James Gunn goes to another studio and makes a movie called Schmardians of the Schmalaxy, and Dave Baustia stars in it as Brax the Beastroyer.